[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:04]
UM, SO I'LL CALL THE, CALL THE MEETING NEW ORDER.
AND WE HAVE, UH, TWO NEW FOLKS WITH US TODAY.
AM I SAYING THAT CORRECTLY? OH, I THINK YOU'RE MUTED STILL.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR CHECKING AND I UNDERSTAND CONGRATULATIONS ON AN ORDER.
I HAVE A, UH, FOUR AND A HALF MONTH SON THAT WE JUST WELCOMED, UH, TO THE WORLD.
SO, UM, HIS NAME'S THOMAS AND HE'S DOING GREAT.
YOU WANNA TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? SURE.
UM, I, UM, I LIVED DOWN IN, IN, UH, TRAVIS HEIGHTS AND, UM, I MOVED TO AUSTIN ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO WITH MY WIFE, WHO IS FROM TEXAS.
UM, I WORK IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, UM, AND, UH, I JOINED THE BOND OVERSIGHT, UH, COMMISSION BECAUSE I'M, UH, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN LOCAL POLITICS.
SO THANKS FOR, UH, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
AND I THINK WHAT I'LL DO IS AUSTIN.
AND YOU WANT, PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
UH, I ENDED UP MOVING TO TOWN, UH, ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO NOW.
UM, I, UH, I WORK FOR, UH, A SEMICONDUCTOR FIRM, A MD.
UM, I DO SUPPLY CHAIN, BUT I HAVE A BACKGROUND, UH, IN FINANCE, UH, CORPORATE FINANCE, TAX, ACCOUNTING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO A LOT OF THIS STUFF JUST, UH, ME AND I, I'D LIKE TO GET BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IN SOME, UH, DIFFERENT ASPECTS OR SOME DIFFERENT, UH, TOPICS YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN GOING OVER, UH, ARE ALSO INTERESTING TO ME AS WELL.
SO, UM, IT LOOKED LIKE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY AND, UH, JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE.
AND I'M JOHN MCNABB AND I'M A RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL, UH, IN MY, IN MY SPARE TIME AND RUNNING A NON-PROFIT ON THE REST OF THE TIME.
BUT AT ANY RATE, UM, COMMISSIONER DIAZ, YOU WANT INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR NEW FOLKS? OH, YEAH.
UH, I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 21 YEARS.
ORIGINALLY FROM EL PASO, UM, SOFTWARE ENGINEER.
AND, UM, UM, LOVE TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND I'M GLAD TO BE HERE.
UH, I ALSO WORK IN SUPPLY CHAIN FOR MED DEVICE COMPANY.
UM, BUT HONESTLY, THINK OF MYSELF MORE OF A GENERALIST.
DON'T REALLY SPECIALIZE IN ANYTHING, BUT LIKE TO THINK I CAN DO A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.
UM, AND SIMILAR TO WHAT THE REST OF Y'ALL ECHOED, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE.
UM, I'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN, I THINK AROUND 30 YEARS.
UH, PREVIOUSLY DID A STEP WORKING FOR THE CITY AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND, UH, THEN AS A CONSULTANT IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
KEN STANLEY, UH, DISTRICT FOUR.
UH, BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 13, 14 YEARS NOW.
SO MY WIFE COULD GO TO GRAD SCHOOL AT UT AND WE'VE STUCK AROUND EVER SINCE.
UH, AND I WORK IN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT.
AND WE'VE GOT TWO PEOPLE REMOTELY.
I LIVE, UM, UM, PRETTY CLOSE TO CAMPUS IN HYDE PARK.
I ALSO WORK IN FINANCIAL SERVICES, UM, ACTUALLY MANAGE BOND PORTFOLIOS FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES.
I WANNA SAY THAT I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN AND GOING ON YEAR FOUR, I BELIEVE, UH, IN THIS CURRENT ROLE WITH THE BOND OVERSIGHT, UH, COMMISSION.
UM, DISTRICT EIGHT, SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.
I HELP NONPROFITS TO PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY.
UH, GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON THE TEAM.
ANY RATE, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS? ANYBODY SIGN UP? WE HAVE NONE, BUT I WILL CALL ROE FOR THE RECORD.
[00:05:02]
HERE.[1. Approval of the minutes of the Regular meeting of the Bond Oversight Commission on September 17, 2025.]
I'LL, UH, IF EVERYBODY'S BRADYS, IF ANYBODY'S REVIEWED THE MINUTES, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO FOR APPROVAL.ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES? RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE.
[2. Staff briefing from Austin Financial Services Department on the Capital Improvement Process and Plan.]
OKAY.I THINK WE'RE READY FOR, UH, SHELLY.
UM, I'LL WAIT TILL YOU GET THAT OUT.
UM, AND I, I WORK FOR AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES AS IT'S CALLED NOW.
UM, I CREATED THIS, UH, PRESENTATION AFTER SOME BACK AND FORTH WITH COMMISSIONER CURRY.
UH, HOPEFULLY HE'LL LIKE THE RESULTS.
UH, IF NOT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TWEAK IT.
WE CAN TWEAK IT AND I CAN SEND SOME, SOME OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE HOW, HOW I DID.
UM, SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'RE MEETING, I THOUGHT I WOULD TELL YOU A FEW THINGS ABOUT MYSELF.
UM, MY FIRST FULL-TIME JOB WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS IN THE BUDGET OFFICE WORKING FOR CHARLES CURRY,
UM, AND HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY HE'LL BE NICE TO ME TODAY TOO.
UM, I WAS, I BELIEVE THE FIRST STAFF PERSON ASSIGNED TO THE NEWLY CREATED BOND OVERSIGHT COMMISSION BACK IN 2007.
I MEAN, IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, SO I COULD BE MISREMEMBERING.
BUT I BELIEVE THIS WAS COM YOU KNOW, UH, CREATED AFTER THAT, THE 2006 BOND COMMITTEE, UH, ELECTION, I HAVE SPENT ABOUT HALF MY CAREER, UH, WORKING FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN, UH, US IN FINANCIAL SERVICES.
AND THE OTHER HALF IN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH HAS BEEN CALLED MANY THINGS OVER THE YEARS.
BUT THE CURRENT ITERATION IS CALLED TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, AND I'VE DONE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT DELIVERY AND, UH, VARIOUS OTHER INITIATIVES.
UM, I CAME BACK TO FINANCIAL SERVICES IN FEBRUARY AND WHEN OTHER PEOPLE WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO DO THIS PRESENTATION FOR UNTIL DECEMBER, I VOLUNTEERED TO TAKE THIS ON
UM, BUT IT'S BEEN GREAT TO KIND OF GET MYSELF CURRENT ON HOW WE ARE DOING THINGS THESE DAYS, BECAUSE SOME OF THESE THINGS HAVE REALLY CHANGED, UM, OVER THE YEARS.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, WITH THAT I WILL GO A LITTLE, UH, DEEPER INTO IT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY TRYING TO CREATE RESOURCES FOR, FOR YOU ALL.
UM, SO THIS IS A, A SHEET OF COMMON TERMS. I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER THESE TERMS, BUT I WANTED YOU GUYS TO HAVE THESE, YOU KNOW, HANDY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW, UH, PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION.
UM, AND, AND, UM, WE CAN ADD TO OTHER ONES.
OR IF THERE'S OTHER WORDS THAT WE'RE SAYING THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, YOU DUNNO WHAT WE'RE SAYING, DEFINITELY EMAIL ME, UM, OR, UH, LET STEVEN KNOW AND, AND WE'LL WORK ON THAT.
UM, SO IT'S NOT MY INTENT TO GO OVER ON THIS, UH, SLIDE PRESENTATION EVERY SIDE, BULLET THROUGH BULLET, BUT KIND OF WALK YOU THROUGH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO YOU, UM, TO HELP YOU DO YOUR JOB.
UM, SOME SLIDES I MAY GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON.
UM, BUT OTHER ONES I MAY JUST FLIP THROUGH AND JUST, YOU KNOW, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE LIKE, CAN WE GO BACK TO THIS LATER? UM, ALRIGHT.
SO HERE WE HAVE ONE OF THE BIG DOCUMENTS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, YOU REALLY SHOULD BE.
UM, THIS IS OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT.
THAT SHOULD BE A, A LIVE LINK THAT WORKS IF YOU GET THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS.
BUT IT HAS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, OUR APPROVED, UH, CAPITAL BUDGET AND THE CIP PLAN, THOSE ARE THE MOST RELEVANT FOR YOU.
UM, ON THIS, ON THE, THE CAPITAL BUDGET, UM, SHOWS, EACH DEPARTMENT SHOWS THE APPROPRIATION, PAST APPROPRIATION, CURRENT APPROPRIATION, PAST EXPENDITURES, AND THE PROJECTED SPENDING.
AND THERE'S SOME KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED AND THE OBJECTIVES, UM, FOR THE YEAR.
UH, THIS EXAMPLE THAT I PUT IN HERE, I SNIPPED THIS STRAIGHT FROM THE, UM, THE APPROVED BUDGET DOCUMENT.
THIS IS THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT YOU CAN SEE ALL THE DEPARTMENTS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IF YOU GO INTO THAT DOCUMENT AND THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU
[00:10:01]
WILL SEE.THE OTHER THING IN THE, IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT IS THE CIP SPIN PLAN.
I HIGHLIGHTED THIS IS FROM, I SNIPPED THIS FROM THE TABLE OF CONTENTS.
AND YOU SEE THAT THERE ARE SPECIAL AREAS OR SPECIAL PARTS OF THE DOCUMENT CALLED HOW TO READ THE CIP PLAN AND THE CIP PLAN PLANNING PROCESS.
SO YOU CAN GO DEEP IF YOU WANNA READ MORE NARRATIVE ABOUT HOW WE DO THINGS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, HERE'S AN EXAMPLE FROM THE LIBRARY.
THIS IS DI SNIP DIRECTLY FROM THAT DOCUMENT.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S THE PLANNED SPENDING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UM, FROM ALL FUNDING SOURCES.
SO YOU ASK YOURSELF, WHERE DO I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PRO INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS? THIS IS WHERE, UM, I HAVE MORE, UH, SO SOME DIFFERENT RESOURCES.
NUMBER ONE IS CAPITAL PROJECTS EXPLORER.
THERE'S THE LINK AND THAT'S THE KIND OF INFORMATION YOU CAN FIND ON IT.
I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON IT 'CAUSE WE ACTUALLY ACCESS THE INFORMATION FROM A DIFFERENT WAY,
WE MANAGE IT A DIFFERENT WAY, BUT THIS IS KIND OF OUR PUBLIC FACING, UM, TOOL.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED AROUND WITH IT, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.
UM, THE NEXT ONE IS CALLED OPEN BUDGET, A TX.
UM, IT'S ANOTHER TOOL TO LEARN ABOUT PROJECTS AND FUNDING.
EVERY DOLLAR FROM ALL THE BOND PROGRAMS IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBPROJECTS.
AND ALL THAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THIS SITE.
SO YOU CAN REALLY DRILL IN TO THE DATA.
ANOTHER RESOURCE IS BONDS, A TX.
UH, IT HAS BOND PROGRAM INFORMATION BY YEAR, CIP RESOURCES, KEY TERMS, AND LOTS MORE.
YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, HOW THE VOTING WENT FOR DIFFERENT, UH, PROPS, UH, THE BALLOT, I MEAN THE, THE VOTER BROCHURE, THE JUST ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION IS LINKED TO FROM THIS SITE.
SO AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, HAVEN'T BEEN THERE, YOU KNOW HOW IT'S A LOT OF FUN HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT IN THERE.
UM, OKAY, SO SOMETHING ELSE I PUT IN HERE.
UM, CHARLES HAD MENTIONED WANTING A TIMELINE.
SO I'VE CREATED THE TIMELINE HERE THAT GOES FROM THE CALL FOR A BOND ELECTION ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO A BOND SALE.
UM, THAT SOME OF THESE TIMELINE ITEMS ONLY HAPPEN WHEN WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE BOND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
AND THEN OTHER THINGS HAPPEN ANNUALLY.
SO I'VE COLOR CODED THEM TO HOPEFULLY MAKE THAT CLEAR.
SO IF IT'S GREEN, IT MEANS THIS IS HAPPENING EVERY YEAR.
THE OTHER ONES, THE WHATEVER COLOR THAT IS, IT'S LIKE A PURPLEY BLACK.
UM, THOSE JUST HAPPENED WHEN WE'RE IN KIND OF THE SEASON WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, WHERE WE'RE COMING, WE'RE WORKING ON DEVELOPING A BOND PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, I WASN'T REALLY PLANNING ON GOING THROUGH THESE TIMELINE, BULLET BY BULLET.
THERE'S A LOT OF BULLETS HERE.
UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT IF YOU GUYS WANT ME TO.
BUT MAYBE I'LL KIND OF FINISH THE PRESENTATION AND THEN YOU COULD TELL ME IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK AND, AND, AND GO THROUGH THIS.
UM, SO I'M GONNA JUST FLIP THROUGH.
WHY THE SIX YEAR TARGET? WHY DO WE TRY AND DO A SIX YEAR TIMELINE FOR THE BOND ELECTION? SO THAT GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL ON THAT ITEM.
A LOT OF THIS, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ALSO ON THE BE DIFF THIS SHOULD SEEM FAMILIAR THAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THIS AND IT'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, PREVIEW OF WHAT'S TO COME.
UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS ONE.
'CAUSE THIS IS ONE THAT REALLY IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT, CHARLES, THAN BACK WHEN YOU AND I WERE DOING THIS.
UM, SO STARTING WITH THE 2018 BOND PROGRAM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHIFTED TO APPROPRIATE, THIS IS AFTER A BOND ELECTION.
OKAY? WE PASSED THE BOND, LET'S SAY NEXT NOVEMBER.
UM, WE NOW SHIFT TO APPROPRIATE ALL PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED IN THE BOND ELECTION AT ONCE.
UM, THE APPROPRIATION PLUS THE REIMBURSEMENT RESOLUTION.
WHAT WE DO ALLOWS, UH, BOND FUNDED PROJECT EXPENSES TO COMMENCE THE REIMBURSEMENT RESOLUTIONS, ALLOW PROJECTS TO BEGIN AND GET FUNDED LATER.
IT'S CONSISTENT WITH IRS REGULATIONS AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES REGARDING CASH MAN, CASH MANAGEMENT AND RESULTS IN LOWER INTEREST COSTS.
BONDS ARE GENERALLY SOLD AFTER MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT ON PROJECT, TYPICALLY WITHIN 18 MONTHS OF SPENDING.
SO WE USED TO DO THE APPROPRIATIONS ON KIND OF A, WE WOULD DO LIKE A SLUG OF APPROPRIATION FOR DESIGN FOR A PROJECT, LIKE A TRADITIONAL PROJECT.
AND THEN TWO YEARS LATER WE WOULD KIND OF APPROPRIATE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION.
[00:15:01]
THAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE AS MUCH SENSE NOW FOR, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS I COULD GO INTO IT, BUT IT ACTUALLY WORKS A LOT BETTER TO DO IT HOW WE'RE DOING NOW.IT'S, IT'S MUCH MORE EFFICIENT, UM, AND IS LESS RISKY.
SO, UM, ON OUR SIDE, IN TERMS OF MISSING OUR TIMING, YOU KNOW, IF THINGS GO BAD.
SO ANYWAY, IT WORKS, IT WORKS A LOT BETTER ON OUR END.
ANOTHER SLIDE THAT I HAVE IN HERE IS IN, UH, BELINDA WEAVER.
OUR TREASURER TOLD ME YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN THIS SLIDE MANY TIMES, BUT THIS IS KIND OF THE STEPS TO, UH, ISSU TO SELL OR ISSUING DEBT.
SO AGAIN, JUST A REFERENCE DOCUMENT FOR YOU AND THEN QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THIS.
I'M HAPPY TO WALK THROUGH THE TIMELINE IF THAT, IF YOU WANT ME TO, BUT DON'T NEED TO, IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN APPETITE FOR THAT, YOU ME, KEEP THIS UP.
SO ALL THE PROJECTS ARE APPROPRIATED AT AFTER THE REIMBURSEMENT, I'M SORRY? AFTER THE BOND ELECTION? YEAH.
BUT DO, UM, ARE REIMBURSEMENT RESOLUTIONS DONE ANNUALLY OR FOR ALL THE PROJECTS AT THE BEGINNING? ALL AT THE BEGINNING, YEAH.
SO AS FAR AS I KNOW, I'M, I'M, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
SO ANY PROJECT IN THE BOND ELECTION, UM, COULD START SPENDING MONEY.
SO THEN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN LAYS OUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WILL BE DONE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN, IF YOU GO BACK TO THAT, UM, SLIDE THAT SAID CIP PLAN AND THE LIBRARY, LET'S SEE IT'S SLIDE NUMBER.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE, JUST THE PROJECTED SPENDING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS ON A PROJECT.
SO SOME PROJECTS OF COURSE WILL BE QUICK AND EASY AND SOME WILL TAKE A LONG, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF A LONG TERM.
UM, LIKE DOWNTOWN STREET FOR, YOU'RE RECONSTRUCTING A DOWNTOWN STREET, RIGHT? THERE'S PROBABLY TWO TO THREE YEARS OF DESIGN A YEAR PERMITTING,
IT'S VERY LONG TERM, RIGHT? SO YOU'D BE KIND OF FORECASTING HOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE PROJECTING YOUR SPENDING FOR THAT.
SO IF A, IF A GIVEN PROJECT IN THE BOND ELECTION THAT'S APPROVED GETS APPROPRIATED, UM, WHAT CONTROLS THE SCHEDULE FOR THAT PROJECT? THE PROJECT.
AND, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY EVERYONE'S MOVING FORWARD ON, I CAN'T, I CAN'T SPEAK TO IN WITHIN PARTICULAR PROGRAMS, AND MAYBE STEVEN CAN TALK TO THIS BETTER, BUT WITHIN PARTICULAR PROGRAMS, MAYBE THEY'RE KIND OF LIKE, WE'RE STARTING ON THESE ONES FIRST 'CAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE CAPACITY FOR STAFF WISE, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S KIND OF AN INTERNAL AND, AND, BUT ON SOME PROJECT, LET'S SAY YOU'RE APPROVING IN A LIBRARY, AND AS LONG AS WE HAVE THE CAPACITY, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON ALL OF THEM, BUT NOT EVERYTHING.
AND SOMETIMES IN A BOND ELECTION, YOU'RE APPROVING, THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY DESIGNED MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT EVERY, EVERYTHING'S IN DIFFERENT STAGES.
AND WE USE A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, PROJECT DELIVERY METHODS AND CONTRACTING METHODS THAT ALLOW, LIKE, WE DO A LOT OF, UM, IDIQ INDEFINITE, OH MY GOSH.
SO WE DO A LOT OF THAT WHERE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DESIGN.
WE CAN GO STRAIGHT INTO CONSTRUCTION.
AND SO THEY'RE JUST, YOU CAN JUST START GOING, BUT YOU'VE GOT A $670 MILLION BOND ELECTION.
UM, IT'S A LOT OF PROJECTS THEY CAN ALL START AT THE SAME TIME.
IF THEY ALL START AT THE SAME TIME, THEN IT'S GONNA CREATE A HUGE JAM GOING THROUGH THE PURCHASING PROCESS, CONTRACTING PROCESS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
NOT NECESSARILY, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE DO BETTER THAN BEFORE.
THINGS THAT WE HAVE, WE GET THE CONTRACTS SET UP IN ADVANCE.
DO YOU WANNA TALK TO THIS A LITTLE MORE? SURE.
THE, THE NATURE OF THE PROJECTS THEMSELVES IS GONNA DRIVE SOME OF THAT SCHEDULE.
UM, CERTAINLY THE MORE COMPLEX PROJECTS, THE SIGNIFICANT CORRIDOR PROGRAM PROJECTS, BRIDGES LARGE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE COMPLEX PROJECTS ARE GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO GET THROUGH DESIGN AND SURVEY PERMITTING.
UM, THE, THE SMALLER SCOPE, THE REQUIREMENTS CONTRACTS, THE IDIQS FOR SIDEWALKS THAT WE COULD JUST JUMP OFF, UM, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY ARE GONNA COME TO THE FORE.
SO SOME OF THIS WILL JUST BE NATURALLY OCCURRING RATHER THAN A DELIBERATELY PLANNED OUT EVENT.
BUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, PREPARING FOR THE 2026
[00:20:01]
BONDS AND THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING WORK, THE ESTIMATES, THE SCOPING IS GONNA HELP US LAY THAT SCHEDULE OUT.SO WHEN THAT TIME HITS, WE HAVE A, A PRETTY GOOD DRAFT SCHEDULE OF KNOWING WHEN OVER THAT SIX YEAR LIFETIME PROJECTS ARE GONNA HIT.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT NORMALIZED CURVE RATHER THAN A, YOU KNOW, A SINE WAVE OF A LOT UP FRONT AND THEN DROPPING OFF.
IF WE CAN SPREAD IT OUT, THAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL.
SORRY, IS THAT SCHEDULE REPRESENTED IN THE CIP THEN IT, SO YOU'VE GOT, IT SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY.
THE BETWEEN THE, MY DEPARTMENT, IF WE'RE GONNA BE THE ONES DELIVERING THE PROJECTS AND THE SPONSORS, WE SHOULD THEN LOOK AT THAT FIVE YEAR FORECAST.
AND THAT SHOULD BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE PLAN TO ACTUALLY SPEND IT.
THAT THE PLAN SHOULD FOLLOW THE, THE REALITY OF HOW, HOW WE THINK WE'RE GONNA EXECUTE THESE PROJECTS.
SO ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT THE B TIFF IS LOOKING AT THAT STAFF THAT CAME FROM THE STAFF LIST, COLONY PARK LIBRARY.
UM, AND LET'S ASSUME THAT IT MAKES IT THEN INTO THE BOND ELECTION.
UM, WHAT'S THE CIP GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR THE COLONY PARK LIBRARY? THEY WOULD PROBABLY START, THEY WOULD DO A, A STANDALONE, UH, SOLICITATION FOR THE ARCHITECT STARTING, WHAT'S IT GONNA LOOK LIKE IN THE CIP IS, OH, WELL, IS IT THEIR SPENDING PLAN GONNA SHOW? YEAH, IT'LL SHOW CONSTRUCTION PROBABLY IN LIKE WHAT DO YOU, YOU TYPICALLY HAVE TO WHAT THE, LIKE A YEAR TO CONTRACT AND I, I'M JUST GONNA ROUND THAT REALLY ROUND NUMBERS UHHUH A YEAR TO GET IT ARCHITECT UNDER CONTRACT AND THEN ANOTHER YEAR OR SO OF DESIGN AND THEN TWO YEARS THROUGH PERMITTING CONSTRUCTION.
TWO YEARS PERMITT CONSTRUCTION PERMITTING AND CONSTRUCTION SHEET WOULD BE SHOWING KIND OF WHAT YEAR YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE SPENDING, YOU KNOW, RAMPING UP.
LIKE DESIGN IS WHAT 30% OF, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL KIND OF SAY, OKAY, WE THINK IN YEAR TWO WE'LL BE IN DESIGN, SO WE'RE GONNA SEARCH 30% SPENDING IN THAT ONE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL PERMITTING TIME.
BUT THEN, SO IT'LL KIND OF MIGHT SPREAD OVER THREE YEARS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY PROBABLY TWO YEARS OF SPENDING, BUT CONSTRUCTION, BUT IT MIGHT BE OVER THREE YEARS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'D SEE IF WE WENT TO THE CIP.
AND THAT COMES, AND YOU NOTICE IN THIS, IN THE LIBRARY, THERE'S NO, UH, GEO BOND.
WELL, THEY MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT, WHAT HAVE THEY GOT LEFT? SORRY, I CAN'T READ IT THAT FAR.
YEAH, I THINK THEY WERE MOSTLY, YEAH.
UM, YEAH, THIS IS ALL AND CASH THAT COMES FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSIONS.
THE CIP, THE PLANNING COMMISSION
THEY DON'T, NOW THEY SEND A, LIKE, HOW DID I PHRASE IT IN MY TIMELINE?
OH, I DIDN'T PRINT OUT THOSE DOCUMENTS.
WE HAVE TO GO WHAT SLIDE WOULD IT BE? SLIDE.
WOULD IT BE, UH, GO TO THE, GO TO THE, GO TO THE, THE GREEN, THE TIMELINE THAT'S GOT THE GREEN, UH, WRITING ON IT.
UM, YEAH, THAT THE ONE WITH THE GREEN YEAH.
IN MAY, THE PLANNING COMMISSION SUBMITS ITS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
SO THAT IS A MEMO THAT COMES FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT I FOUND A, I GOT A COPY OF.
HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES THAT WE COULD DISTRIBUTE TO YOU IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT THEY DO.
HOW DOES THAT TITLE TO THE CRP? IT'S PRETTY GENERAL CHARLES.
IT'S LIKE GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL LAW THAT PLANNING INITIATIVES GOING ON IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SPECIFICITY TO IT.
SO THE, THE POINT OF THE QUESTIONS FOR PARTICULAR, THE REASON I'M ASKING FOR THIS PARTICULAR COMMISSION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, I THINK IS, YOU KNOW, EXERCISING OVERSIGHT TO MAKE SURE THAT PROJECTS ARE COMPLETED ON TIME AND PRESUMABLY ON BUDGET.
SO THE CIP LAYS OUT THAT SCHEDULE, UM, AT LEAST IN MY TIME ON THE THIS COMMISSION, WE'VE NEVER LOOKED AT THE CIP.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN DEPARTMENT, WE'VE HAD DEPARTMENTS COME TO US AND SAY, HERE'S OUR PROJECTION OF THE SPENDING PLAN.
[00:25:01]
UM, BUT THAT'S NEVER BEEN TIED TO THE CIP THAT SAYS HERE, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR YOU'RE GONNA DO DESIGN THIS YEAR, YOU'RE GONNA DO ET CETERA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.THE PROBLEM THAT WE'VE HAD IS THAT WHEN DEPARTMENTS HAVE DONE THEIR SPENDING PLAN, THEY'VE ALL SAID IT'S ALL GONNA BE DONE ON TIME.
THE REALITY HAS NOT BEEN THAT THEY HAVE IT ALL BEEN DONE ON, ON TIME, WHICH IS HOW WE GOT BEHIND, UH, PART OF HOW WE GOT BEHIND AND HAD TO DELAY A BOND ELECTION UNTIL 2026 MM-HMM
BECAUSE WE HAD, UH, AN EXCESS OF AUTHORIZED BONDS THAT HAD NOT BEEN ISSUED.
AND THERE, THERE'S ANOTHER FINANCIAL POLICY THAT TIES INTO THE SIX YEAR SCHEDULE THAT SAYS THE CITY WILL NOT, UH, HAVE A BOND ELECTION UNTIL THEY'RE AUTHORIZED.
BUT UNISSUED IS DOWN, I THINK IT'S TO WHAT CAN BE SOLD IN TWO YEARS.
I BELIEVE THAT'S THE WAY IT PHRASE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THIS PRESENTATION IN NEXT MONTH'S PRESENTATION IS FOR US TO FIGURE OUT IS THERE A BETTER WAY FOR US TO EXERCISE OVERSIGHT THAN HAVING DEPARTMENTS, UH, DEPENDING ON THE DEPARTMENT'S PROJECTION OF SPENDING.
UM, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT TYING SPENDING TO THE DIFFERENT PIECES OF PROJECT COMPLETION, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK IS REPRESENTED IN THE CIP, ALTHOUGH THE CIP DOES IT BY DOLLARS INSTEAD OF BY WORDS.
I MEAN, I THINK INEVITABLY YOU HAVE, I MEAN I'VE, I'VE WORKED AS A PROJECT MANAGER AND I KNOW WHEN WE ENTER OUR SPENDING PLANS, SOMETIMES THEY'RE, WELL, THEY ARE, THEY'RE KIND OF BEST CASE SCENARIO, YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE YOU'RE ASSUMING EVERYTHING'S GONNA GO SMOOTHLY.
EVERY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT DOES.
YOU KNOW, AND IT GENERALLY DOES.
UNFORTUNATELY, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE PROJECT MANAGERS ARE DOING THAT.
SO INEVITABLY SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, RIGHT.
AND THEN JUST AS YOU KNOW, SO IT'S, IT'S, MAYBE WE SHOULD, LIKE, I DON'T, AND MAYBE THEY DO, I DON'T KNOW IF LIKE AT THE, IN THE BUDGET OFFICE, THEY'RE LIKE, OH, WE'RE GONNA CUT THAT BY 25% EVERYONE.
'CAUSE WE KNOW
SOME, YOU KNOW, DISASTER'S GONNA STRIKE OR JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT CONTRACT IS GONNA COME IN OR IT'S GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA BE DELAYED BECAUSE THE LAST PROJECT THEY WERE WORKING ON TOOK LONGER.
SO, UM, IT SHOULD APPROXIMATE, BUT IT IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF A BEST CASE SCENARIO, UM, VIEW RATHER THAN A PESSIMISTIC VIEW.
BUT IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE BEST CASE PLAN THAT WAS LAID OUT MM-HMM
AND YOU HAVE A WAY OF COMPARING THAT TO WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING, THEN YOU CAN SPOT PROBLEMS WHEN THEY OCCUR.
INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL THE END OF THE PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S YOUR WORLD
AND I, I THINK THE DIRECTION REMOVING AND WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO UPDATE THE SPEND PLAN? IS IT THE SPEND PLAN? DO YOU KNOW WHAT, SORRY? WE DO THAT.
WE START WORKING ON IT HONESTLY IN NOVEMBER, AND THEN WE HAVE TO HAVE IT ALL UPDATED.
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT DATE, BUT I FEEL LIKE IT'S LIKE FEBRUARY.
WHICH IS OUR INTERNAL, AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING IN EPR FOR LIKE THREE OR FOUR MONTHS.
SO IN, THAT'S, IT'S KIND OF WINTER, I WOULD SAY WINTER SEASON HERE.
SO IN THEORY, IF, UH, NOVEMBER ELECTION NEXT YEAR, UM, APPROVES AND ALLOCATES $700 MILLION, THE, THAT NEXT CYCLE OF SPEND PLAN DEVELOPMENT SHOULD REFLECT THAT.
SO EACH DEPARTMENT THEN SHOULD RECOGNIZE HERE'S HOW MUCH BOND DOLLARS WE'RE GONNA GET FOR OUR CIPS.
AND THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO LAY THAT INTO A FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN.
SO THE SPEND PLAN THAT GETS FROZEN STARTING IN 2027 SHOULD BE OUR METRIC.
AND, UM, MY DEPARTMENT TENDS TO LOOK AT THE, THE YEAR OF EXECUTION.
AND WE MONITOR WITHIN THAT YEAR HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THE SPEND PLAN.
BUT WE SHOULD HAVE VISIBILITY FOR THAT FULL FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
AND THEN THE NEXT YEAR THROUGH
[00:30:01]
NOVEMBER INTO FEBRUARY, THE SPEND PLAN WILL BE READJUSTED.AND THEN HOPEFULLY NOT A SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENT, BUT IT'LL PUSH FORWARD, IT'LL REFLECT PROGRESS DURING THAT YEAR WE JUST PASSED.
AND AGAIN, IDEALLY IT'LL BE PRETTY SIMILAR.
IT'LL JUST BE THE NEXT STEP IN THAT PROCESS.
BUT WE SHOULD HAVE, IT SHOULD BE A SEAMLESS TRANSITION FROM APPROVAL OF X DOLLARS FOR A, A WELL-DEFINED LIST OF PROJECTS.
LAY THEM INTO A, A FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN BY DEPARTMENT, AND THEN MEASURE EXECUTION THROUGHOUT THAT FIVE YEAR.
IT'LL END UP BEING A SIX YEAR, BUT A ROLLING FIVE YEAR PERIOD AS WE WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THAT SIX YEAR PROCESS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARD.
AND IN WHAT SYSTEM ARE YOU COMPARING? YOU, YOU JUST SAID, AND, UH, JC AND KENNETH, NOTE THAT HE JUST GAVE US 700 MILLION INSTEAD OF SIX 70.
UM, IN WHAT SYSTEM IS THAT COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SPIN PLAN AND WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING? WHERE, WHERE IS THAT COMPARISON HARRISON HAPPENING? IN WHAT SYSTEM? IS THAT E CAPRI? IS THAT THE NEW SYSTEM THAT YOU'RE GONNA TELL, TELL US ABOUT NEXT MONTH OR? YEAH, THE SYSTEM I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT NEXT MONTH IS MORE TACTICAL, LIKE I JUST ALLUDED TO, WE'RE WE SORT OF LOOK AT THAT YEAR OF EXECUTION.
SO FOR 2027 OR 2028, WE'LL WE'LL KNOW WHAT OUR SPEND PLAN IS INDICATING WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING THROUGH AND E CAPRI AND OUR NEW PM WEB THAT'LL, UH, SUPPLEMENT E CAPRI WILL ALLOW OUR PROJECT MANAGERS AND SPONSOR DEPARTMENTS TO TRACK THROUGH THAT YEAR.
ARE THEY WORKING TOWARD THE GOAL THEY SET UP FOR THAT YEAR? UM, A A LARGER CITYWIDE, UM, CIP PLATFORM OR TRACKING SYSTEM IS A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF MY EXPERTISE.
I, I EXPECT THAT'S UP AT, UM, FSDS LEVEL OR THE, THE ROLL UP OF ALL THOSE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS IS PROBABLY NOT SOMETHING WE'RE, WE'RE MANAGING DAY TO DAY THROUGH THAT SYSTEM.
SO THEN THOSE LINES THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING MM-HMM
FROM DEPARTMENTS, HOW DID THEY COMPARE TO WHAT WAS ANY CAPRI, THE LINES WE SEE FROM THE DEPARTMENT.
SO THEY COME AND SAY, HEY, HERE'S HOW WE'RE TRACKING.
BUT I CAN'T, I'M NOT IN CHARGE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING,
BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT, AGAIN, THOSE WILL BE FIVE YEAR SPEND PLANS AND THEY'LL HAVE A, A NICE SMOOTH CURVE TO THEM.
UHHUH,
WE CAN SAY, HERE'S OUR ACTUAL SPENDING COMPARED TO WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, THAT YEAR ON THE CURVE.
AND WE CAN SAY WE'RE A LITTLE BIT ABOVE OR A LITTLE BIT BELOW, UM, FORECASTING OUT THREE, FOUR YEARS, WE'RE STILL RELYING ON WHAT THE SPEND PLAN INDICATES.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE WE'RE NOT DOING THE, THE MATH IN REAL TIME TO FLATTEN OR CHANGE THAT CURVE.
WE'RE JUST SHOWING HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING IN A CURRENT YEAR.
SO THERE'S REALLY NOTHING THAT'S MAKING THAT ANALYSIS.
UM, WELL, AT LEAST HISTORICALLY FROM MY EXPERIENCE, AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT GET IN TROUBLE IN YEAR ONE.
BECAUSE, UH, THEY GO THROUGH A CITIZEN INPUT PLAN AND THAT BOGS DOWN OR SOMETHING ELSE GOES WRONG, OR, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T EVEN GET TO DESIGN WHEN THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THROUGH WITH DESIGN IN YEAR ONE.
AND SO THAT SHOULD HAVE SHOWN UP IN CAPRI.
AND THEN IF THAT PROJECT IS GONNA BE COMPLETE ON TIME, SOMETHING FURTHER ALONG IN THE SCHEDULE HAS GOTTA GET DONE FASTER THAN THEY SAID IT WAS.
SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE A SMOOTH CURVE.
YOU KNOW, IT STARTED OFF AS A SMOOTH CURVE AND THEN THE SMOOTH CURVE
WHY, WHY DID WE KEEP SEEING SMOOTH CURVES? WELL, I THINK ON, ON THE ONE HAND, YOU LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED AND HOPEFULLY PROJECTS DON'T GET BOGGED DOWN AS MUCH.
SO, BUT IT'S, IT IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PREDICTING IT'S HARD TO LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS THE PROJECT THAT'S GONNA BE PREDICTED FAILURE.
[00:35:01]
A SENSE GOING IN LIKE, OKAY, BASED ON PRIOR EXPERIENCE, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, WE'RE GONNA NEED TWO YEARS FOR CITIZEN INPUT.'CAUSE WE KNOW IT'S GONNA BE WHATEVER THIS IS GONNA BOG DOWN, DO BETTER PLANNING.
WE BETTER, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT, SO EVEN, EVEN WITH BETTER PLANNING MM-HMM
AND PART OF THE ISSUE OF MAKING SURE EVERYTHING'S ON TIME IS BEING US, YOU AND US BOTH BEING ABLE TO SPOT THAT SOMETHING'S IN TROUBLE.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S I THINK WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET AT.
I, HOW DO WE SPOT WHAT'S IN ONE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT HAS NEVER SEEMED TO SPOT WHAT'S IN TROUBLE.
ONE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT CERTAINLY IS REALLY, UM, ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A, A FIXED BASELINE.
AND I, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN, UM, TIMES IN THE PAST, UH, WORKING THROUGH PREVIOUS BOND PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WHERE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NEXT FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN, WE JUST PUSH THINGS TO THE RIGHT.
SO WE ADJUST THOSE SPENDING PLANS AS, AS WE GO.
SO WITHOUT THAT FIXED BASELINE, THAT LINE IN THE SAND THAT WE'RE MEASURING TOWARD, WE CONTINUE TO ADJUST WHAT THAT BASE, BASE LINE LOOKS LIKE.
AND YOU, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THAT DOESN'T DO US ANY GOOD FROM, UM, UM, GETTING OUT IN FRONT OF THINGS AND ADDRESSING A PROBLEM.
IT JUST SAYS, YES, EVERYTHING CONTINUES TO BE GOOD.
IT'S JUST A YEAR LATER THAT IT'S GOOD.
AND WE'RE YOU, UM, EXECUTING SMALLER PORTIONS, OR IT'S TAKING LONGER THAN WE ORIGINALLY PROJECTED.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, I THINK WE AS A CITY WANT TO ADDRESS.
AND THERE'S BEEN AN EMPHASIS IN THIS, THIS PAST YEAR OR OR LONGER NOW, OF SAYING, HOW DO WE SET THAT BASELINE SO IT, UM, IT IS NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE OTHER THAN A, A CHANGE BASED ON A, AN APPROVED SCOPING DECISION OR SOMETHING WHERE THE CITY CONSCIOUSLY SAYS, LET YES, LET'S ADD SOMETHING OR CHANGE THE SCOPE, BUT OTHERWISE WE'RE LOCKED INTO THAT.
AND IF WE TRULY ARE BEHIND, UM, A YEAR DOWN THE ROAD OR COST HAVE RISEN, UH, TWO YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, WE'RE REFLECTING THAT AND EVERY REPORT THAT GOES FORWARD, UM, WE HAVEN'T BEEN RIGOROUS WITH, WITH THAT IN THE PAST.
I, I, CHARLES, I WOULD SAY IN, SORRY, IN SOME WAYS, I THINK SOME OF THIS, SOME OF THE ISSUES COME UP FOR PROJECTS WHEN ON THE FRONT END AND WHEN THEY'RE PUT IN THE BOND ELECTION, THEY'RE NOT WELL SCOPED OR WELL THOUGHT OF.
AND IT, IT'S ALMOST LIKE SOMETIME, FOR INSTANCE, MANY TIMES THE, IN THE PAST, DURING CERTAIN BOND ELECTIONS, COUNCIL WILL A ADD PROJECTS AT THE LAST MINUTE, AND THEY ARE NOT WELL SCOPED, THEY'RE NOT DESIGNED, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THROWN IN THE MIX AT THE LAST MINUTE.
AND THEN YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHAT YOU DEAL WITH.
YOU DEAL FALSE DEAL WITH WHAT YOU'VE GOT.
YOU DEAL WITH, YOU DEAL WITH WHAT YOU'VE GOT.
AND SO, BUT I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF LOOKING FORWARD IN THIS BOND ELECTION, ONE OF THE THINGS WE CAN REALLY TRY AND DO IS LIKE, OF ALL THE, AND I KNOW YOU, THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ON THE BEAT HAVE HAD TO WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT FOR THAT LIST.
BUT PART OF THAT WAS WE REALLY NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS ON THAT LIST.
THERE ARE PROJECTS ON THAT LIST THAT ARE GETTING IN TROUBLE ALREADY IN V TIFF
AND THE, THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE BTF SAYING, BUT I, I WOULD URGE YOU TO GO AHEAD AND DO THE BUILDING TO PLATINUM OR WHATEVER.
WELL, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT BUILDING TO PLATINUM, IT'S GOING TO COST MORE THAN WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'VE GOT FOR A BOND PROJECT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO, SO WE'RE RELYING ON, UM, BE TASK FORCE MEMBERS LIKE YOURSELF,
WELL, YOU MADE A GROSS MISTAKE THEN.
EITHER YOU MENTIONED PROJECTS BEING PUT, YOU KNOW, BEING PUT IN AT THE END.
AND THEY'RE ALWAYS, AS YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, THERE ARE ALWAYS PEOPLE WHO, WHOSE IDEA FOR THE X, Y, Z LIBRARY IS BIGGER THAN THE BUDGET FOR X, Y, Z LIBRARY.
AND SO THOSE THINGS HAPPEN RIGHT AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
[00:40:01]
THAT THERE IS A, A MECHANISM IN THE PROCESS FOR ADJUSTING THE SCHEDULE AT THAT POINT.I USE THE DDY JUST AS ONE EXAMPLE.
THERE WAS A DECISION TO ADD OTHER THINGS TO THE DESIGN.
THERE WAS NOT MONEY IN THE APPROVED BOND FOR THOSE EXTRA THINGS, BUT THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUED TO SHOW THAT PROJECT BEING COMPLETED ON TIME WHEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE, BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, A CLUE WHERE THE MONEY WOULD COME FROM TO DO THAT.
AND I, I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
YOU, YOU ARE ALLUDING TO DECISIONS BEING MADE TO EXPAND THE SCOPE.
WHO CAN YOU, CAN SOMEBODY ELABORATE ON HOW THAT DECISION IS MADE? IT, IT'S NOT REALLY CLEAR TO ME AT THIS POINT.
WELL, STEVEN CAN DO A BETTER JOB THAN I DID.
WELL, FROM MY EXPERIENCE, WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS AT LEAST, UM, ONE THING CAN BE THAT IN THE DESIGN AND IN THE ENGINEERING WORK, AS YOU GO THROUGH DESIGN, THEY CAN DISCOVER THAT WHAT THEY ALWAYS INTENDED TO DO WAS GONNA COST MORE.
I'LL USE THE STATE'S EXAMPLE ON THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THE EXPRESS LANES ON MOPAC, THEY DISCOVERED LIMESTONE.
AND SO YEAH, THE
ANOTHER THING THAT CAN HAPPEN IS THAT IN THE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROCESS, PEOPLE SUGGEST THINGS FOR THE LIBRARY OR THE WHATEVER THAT MAKE PERFECTLY GOOD SENSE.
AND EVERYBODY'S IN AGREEMENT THAT YES, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA TO DO THAT, IT COSTS MORE THAN WHAT WE'VE GOT.
AND SO THAT CAN, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AND MAKE SOME, EITHER MAKE SOME CHANGES OR FIND MORE MONEY, BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, SO THOSE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THOSE KINDS OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN.
AND, AND YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T PLAN, YOU CAN'T AVOID ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AND THAT'S WHY YOU CONSTANTLY HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PLAN.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? UM, THERE, YOU'RE CORRECT, CHARLES, OUR, OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS WILL GENERALLY, WILL ALWAYS HAVE A CONTINGENCY BUILT IN FOR UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR MINOR CHANGES.
UM, OUR FSD PROCUREMENT TEAM ALSO HAS A PROCESS IN PLACE, A CHANGE CONTROL, UM, FRAMEWORK WHERE IF IT'S A, UM, RECOMMENDED CHANGE TO SCOPE DRIVEN BY SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN A CONTINGENCY, UH, ADDITION TO SCOPE, UH, WANTING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHERE FUNDS RUN OUT, THERE'S BEEN A COST OVERRUN, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES A CONTRACTUAL UPDATE.
IT HAS TO BE REVIEWED BY STAFF.
THERE'S VOTING MEMBERS THAT ACTUALLY LOOK AT THAT, UM, PROPOSAL BEFORE IT WILL WORK ITS WAY BACK UP TO COUNCIL FOR, FOR APPROVAL OR RECONSIDERATION TO, TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO THAT SCOPE.
SO THERE SHOULD NEVER BE OUTSIDE OF USING THE EXISTING EARMARK CONTINGENCY DOLLARS FOR, FOR MINOR UNFORESEEN THINGS, THERE SHOULD NEVER BE A CHANGE TO SCOPE THAT'S HAPPENING IN ISOLATION OR WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CITY LEADERSHIP AND STAFF'S AWARENESS THAT THERE'S A PROPOSED CHANGE.
AND BEFORE IT GETS TO COUNCIL, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN VETTED.
AND ARE THEY TAKING THE CAPITAL BUDGET INTO ACCOUNT WHEN THEY'RE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS? YES.
SO THEY, THEY COULD GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF AMENDING AND INCREASING THE, THE ALLOCATION, BUT WHAT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL IS A CHANGE THAT CHANGES THE TIME.
IT'S NOT GONNA TAKE, WE'RE NOT GONNA SPEND MORE MONEY.
WE HAVE, THE APPROPRIATION COUNCIL DOESN'T HAVE TO APPROVE THAT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE, THE TIME WE SPENT DURING THIS PART, WE ARE NOW NOT GOING TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT IN THE, IN THE, YOU KNOW, PROJECTED AMOUNT
[00:45:01]
OF TIME.UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE GET IN TROUBLE WITH AUTHORIZED BUT UNISSUED BONDS, THAT'S NOT TROUBLE.
BUT JUST TO, IF I COULD SPEAK, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER CURRY IS SAYING, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HE, YOU KNOW, HE AND I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT AT LENGTH OVER THE YEARS, UM, ESPECIALLY IN HIS CAPACITY AS THE, UH, UH, CITY MANAGER FOR TYLER, UH, TEXAS.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE, AND THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO NOODLE ON RIGHT NOW AND COME TO A DECISION, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, LIKE WITH THE DOHERTY AND A FEW OF THESE OTHER PROJECTS WHERE WE GET SURPRISES THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN SCOPE CREEP AND THAT HAS KIND OF LED TO, UM, THINGS NOT GETTING COMPLETED ON TIME OR NOT MOVING ON TO THE NEXT STEP OF, OF COMPLETION SUCH AS REQUISITION, ET CETERA.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE INSTEAD OF MICROMANAGING THIS SCOPE CREEP, MAYBE WE CAN JUST SQUASH THE PROBLEM.
I MEAN, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD DO THIS, UH, UM, TO, TO, TO, TO DRAMATICALLY LIMIT THE, UM, COMMENT PERIOD WHERE ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND SAY, YEAH, UH, I LIKE WHAT EVERYBODY'S APPROVED, BUT I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO DO THE, I WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO CHANGE THIS.
I WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS.
I WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS BECAUSE THEN IT BECOMES DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS, THAT WE HAVE MONEY THAT'S EARMARKED, AND THEN WE GOTTA WAIT, UH, AND, AND LISTEN TO WHEN ALL THESE, ALL THESE PERHAPS OR CONSTITUENT GROUPS, PERHAPS THEY'RE NOT, BUT ALL THESE INTERESTED PARTIES TO GIVE THEIR COMMENTS.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, AS WE SAW DURING COVI, DURING THE, UH, THE INFLATIONARY PERIOD THAT WE ALL EXPERIENCED, YOU KNOW, OUR PROJECTS WERE, WERE ALSO DRAMATICALLY HIT BY, BY THE, UH, BY THE HUGE INCREASE IN RUN-UP IN MATERIAL COSTS AND LABOR, ET CETERA.
AND SO IS, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT INSTEAD OF MANAGING, YOU KNOW, US AS A, AS A COMMITTEE MANAGING THESE, THESE MICROSCOPIC, UM, UM, CHANGE ORDERS, THAT THAT COULD COME IN, WHY DON'T WE JUST DRAMATICALLY CURTAIL THE COMMENT PERIOD OR GIVE A RECOMMENDATION TO THAT EFFECT TO CITY COUNCIL SO THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE TO MICROMANAGE COST OVERSIGHTS OR, OR I'M SORRY, UH, UH, UH, JUST TIME AND TIME AND EXPENSE, UH, UH, EXPLOSIONS IN THE BUDGET.
WELL, THAT'S BEEN TRIED IN THE PAST.
UM, AND, UH, WHAT HAS SOMETIMES HAPPENED IS, YOU KNOW, CONSTITUENTS ASK FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME, AND IT'S GRANTED, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING UP ON YOUR SUGGESTION, UM, ONE WAY, ONE WAY OF APPROACHING THAT IS NOT TO CUT OFF THE TIME AT THE END, BUT TO START SOONER.
SO GIVE, YOU KNOW, GIVE A LONGER AMOUNT OF TIME, UM, IN RECOGNITION THAT ALONG THAT IT, THAT THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME.
SO WHEN YOU DESIGN, WHEN YOU LAY OUT THAT SCHEDULE, YOU, UM, YOU PUT IN A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME FOR THOSE PROJECTS WHERE WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT YOU'RE LIKELY TO HAVE A LOT OF, OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE COMMENTS TO MAKE SO QUICKER, UH, LONGER PERIOD, BUT WITH A DEFINITE END TIME.
DOES THAT MAKE MAKES SENSE? YEAH.
I MEAN, IT, IT, IT MAKES SENSE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE VOTERS VOTED ON ONE THING, AND THAT'S TO HAVE THIS MONEY SPENT OUT THE DOOR AND THE, THE, UH, UH, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT IN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
YOU KNOW, I, I GUESS, I GUESS THEN THE, THE WEEK, THE, THE FAULT IN THE SYSTEM IS THAT COMMENT PERIODS GET EXTENDED, COMMENT PERIODS CAN GET EXTENDED.
UH, AND WHAT I'M SUGGESTING IS KNOWING THAT THEY SOMETIMES GET EXTENDED, WHY DON'T WE START THE COMMENT PERIOD SOONER? UM, GIVE OURSELVES, GIVE OURSELVES SOME EXTRA TIME FOR THAT COMMENT PERIOD.
IF WE DON'T NEED IT, UH, FINE.
BUT MORE TO THE POINT WHEN THEY DO GET EXTENDED, WHEN, WHEN ANY PIECE OF THE PROJECT TAKES LONGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED IT TAKING, THEN THERE NEED, THERE NEEDS
[00:50:01]
TO BE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE SCHEDULE TO SEE HOW MUCH, HOW THAT TIME IS GONNA BE MADE UP.UM, DO YOU MIND IF I, UH, POKING AND ASK A QUESTION? IS IT AS A NEW MEMBER TO THE, THE COUNCIL HERE? UM, GO AHEAD.
UH, SO, SO IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE, UM, WE'RE THINKING OR BRAINSTORMING ABOUT WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR OVERSIGHT AND, UM, MECHANISMS OF OVERSIGHT.
AND IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, THERE ARE OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT THAT ARE DOING WHAT I WOULD CALL KIND OF LIKE A BUDGET VERSUS ACTUALS COMPARISON OF LIKE, HERE'S WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA SPEND, AND HERE'S WHAT YOU ACTUALLY SPENT, LIKE, WHAT HAPPENED AND WHERE ARE WE GONNA GET THIS MONEY? IS THAT, IS OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT AND, AND THEY'RE DOING IT VERY SERIOUSLY.
IS THAT RIGHT? I'M LOOKING AT STEVEN AND SHELLY FOR THE ANSWER AS, UH, SO MY DEPARTMENT, AUSTIN CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, WHICH, UH, HAS RESPONSIBILITY TO BUILD, UM, A MAJORITY OF THE LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS ON ON BEHALF OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, DEFINITELY MONITORS THAT, UM, INTERNALLY AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, OUR PROJECT MANAGERS ARE CHECKING, UM, YOU KNOW, MONTHLY ARE, ARE WE WORKING ACCORDING TO THAT SCHEDULE AND SPENDING PLAN THAT WE HAVE SET UP FOR THAT YEAR? SO IT, IT'S DEFINITELY AN ONGOING, UM, PART OF, PART OF OUR JOB.
UM, LOOKING AT IT FROM A, A HIGHER LEVEL VIEW, THOUGH 10,000 FOOT, UH, OVER THE ENTIRE BOND PROGRAM, THEY'RE, THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE ANOTHER AGENCY THAT'S SPECIFICALLY SETTING ASIDE TIME TO, TO LOOK AT HOW THAT'S DOING ON A, ON A LONG TERM PLAN.
MAYBE THAT, UH, MY PARTNERS IN FSD HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT INTO THAT.
FIRST OF ALL, NOT EVERYONE MAY KNOW THAT, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES DOESN'T DELIVER EVERY BOND PROJECT IN, IN THE CITY.
THEY HAVE KIND OF A SPECIFIC PORTFOLIO OF, OF LARGER, AND A LOT OF THE SMALLER PROJECTS DO NOT RUN THROUGH THEM.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE POINT I WANTED TO MAKE.
BUT YES, LIKE MY EXPERIENCE IN, UM, UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS IS, YEAH, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT, AND THEN I WAS, I JUST SAW A REPORT, CHARLES, WHERE THE, THE OVERALL CITY WAS REPORTING ON THAT, LIKE THE PERCENT OF THE SPENDING PLAN TO YEAR THAT, TO DATE THAT HAS BEEN SPENT.
UM, BUT I AM NOT INVOLVED IN THAT ROLE RIGHT NOW AT ALL.
I AM HELPING PREPARE FOR THE 2026.
SO ANYWAY, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT WITH A LOT OF AUTHORITY, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING ON.
I'M NOT TALKING TO ANYONE ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO, UM, BUT YEAH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN THAT KIND OF DATA IN TERMS OF MANAGING THE PROGRAMS MM-HMM
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I'M CFO OF A SMALL OR MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESS, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU MIGHT CATEGORIZE THOSE THINGS, RIGHT? AND SO ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE JUST WRAPPED UP Q3 AND WE HAVE A VIEW OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA SPEND AND HOW MUCH WE ARE SPENDING, AND THEN WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME COMMENTARY ON WHY IT'S DIFFERENT, UH, THIS YEAR IT'S LESS SO EVERYBODY'S FEELING GOOD ABOUT THAT.
BUT, UM, IS THERE ANY SORT OF, YOU KNOW, RECKONING WITH A DIFFERENT PARTY THAN THE PARTY WHO'S DOING THE ACTION AND THE REPORTING TO DISCUSS THOSE RESULTS AND, AND HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY? OR IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE OR IS THERE ANOTHER COMMITTEE FOR THAT? OR DO WE NEED, IS THAT SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT AND SETTING UP HERE AS WELL? UM, IT'S, I MEAN, YOU'RE DOING IT, WE DO IT INTERNALLY, BUT, UM, AS WAS JUST MENTIONED, OUR DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE OVERSIGHT OF THE ENTIRE BOND PORTFOLIO.
WE MANAGE A SUBSET OF IT, THE LARGER, MORE COMPLEX PROJECTS.
SO BECAUSE IT'S A DISPERSED, UM, EXECUTION BECAUSE, UM, PARKS DEPARTMENTS MANAGING SOME OF THEIR PROJECTS, TPW MANAGES THEIRS.
IT'S, ESPECIALLY ON SOME OF THE SMALLER, LESS COMPLEX PROJECTS, ONE OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THIS BODY, THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMISSION, WAS TO, UM, BRING THOSE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN SO THEY COULD GIVE AN UPDATE AND, UM, COLLECTIVELY SAY, HOW, HOW IS, HOW ARE WE DOING AS A CITY, AS A PORTFOLIO ACROSS THE BOARD? SO THAT'S ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL INTENTS OF, OF THIS GROUP.
UM, ON BEHALF OF COUNCIL, I THINK OUTSIDE OF, UM, THAT OVERSIGHT, PROBABLY THE, THE ONLY CITY DEPARTMENT THAT WOULD HAVE HAVE THAT BROAD LOOK OF HOW WE'RE EXECUTING OVERALL WOULD BE, UM, OVER, UM, FSD THAT, AT LEAST FOR THE, THE FINANCIAL ASPECT OF IT.
HOW, HOW DOES OUR SP ACTUAL SPEND THIS YEAR COMPARE TO WHAT WE HAD PUT FORWARD IN THE CAPITAL SPEND PLAN, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ON A, A SCHEDULE STAND, UM, STANDING AS, UH, COMMISSIONER CURRY JUST MENTIONED.
THIS IS, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL.
AND, AND SO THE, UM, I GUESS THE LAST PART OF MY QUESTION, THE
[00:55:01]
QUESTIONING HERE IS, UM, AND THIS IS REALLY FOR THE, FOR THE COMMISSION AS WELL, YOU KNOW, JUST IN TERMS OF EDUCATING, HELPING EDUCATE ME AND OTHER NEW MEMBERS IS REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, LET'S SAY THAT THERE'S 10 PROJECTS BEING TA YOU KNOW, UNDERTAKEN IN THE CITY THIS YEAR FOR A SIMPLE EXAMPLE.AND, UM, SEVEN OF THEM HAVE SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASES IN TIMELINE DELAYS.
UH, HOW DOES THAT INFORMATION MAKE ITS WAY FROM THOSE PROJECTS INTO KIND OF, UH, CONTINUED BUDGET CONSIDERATION, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, UPDATES TO AMOUNTS THAT WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THOSE PROJECTS AND, AND MONEY THAT WOULD NEED TO BE RAISED THROUGH BOND ISSUANCE OR, UH, TAX, UH, RECEIPTS? YOU KNOW, IS THERE A, IS THERE A CONTINUAL PROCESS THERE TO, TO KEEP TRACK OF THESE, UM, OVERAGES AND, AND KEEP TRACK OF KIND OF A, UM, CUMULATIVE OVERAGE THAT REPRESENTS SOME SORT OF SHORTFALL VERSUS ALLOCATED FUNDS FOR EXISTING PROJECTS? UM, SORRY.
I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE THINGS TO UNDER, OH, SORRY.
ONE OF THE THINGS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT A LOT OF HOW WE'VE DONE OUR, UM, BOND PROGRAMS SO FAR, NOT FOR EVERYTHING, BUT, UM, WE, WE TRY AND DO A LOT OF OUR WORK THROUGH PROGRAMS. LIKE WE DO A SIDEWALK PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND WE ALLOCATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT TO ALL SIDEWALKS, AND WE DO A CERTAIN AMOUNT TO ALL STREETS, UH, CERTAIN.
SO IF ALL OF A SUDDEN PRICES RISE ACROSS THE BOARD, WE'RE JUST DOING A, WE'RE WE, WE HAVE TO DO LESS, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO DO LESS, BUT WE'RE NOT, UM, NEEDING TO COME BACK FOR MORE MONEY NECESSARILY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE DO IT PROGRAMMATICALLY.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE SAVINGS ON ONE, OKAY, YOU CAN SPEND IT ON ANOTHER ONE.
AND, AND HONESTLY, THAT HAS BEEN JUST A SO HELPFUL AND EFFECTIVE IN TERMS OF DELIVERING PROJECTS AND HAVING THE FLEXIBILITY YOU NEED AND LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY WANTS TO COME IN AND THEY WANNA DO THIS SIDEWALK, AND WE CAN REALLY LEVERAGE OUR FUNDS IN A WAY THAT'S VERY POWERFUL.
SO, UM, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, THE, WHERE WE GET IN TROUBLE WITH THAT KINDA THING IS WHERE WE HAVE STANDALONE PROJECTS WHERE WE SAY, OH, WE'RE GONNA, WE NEED 90 MILLION.
WE'RE GIVEN THAT A CENTRAL LIBRARY, $90 MILLION, BUT IN REALITY IT'S GONNA COST 110.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU GET INTO, LIKE WE SAID, IT WAS 90, AND THEN WE HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT SO THAT, THAT BECOMES, UH, THAT'S WHERE IT'S MUCH MORE CRITICAL FOR US TO REALLY HAVE THOSE COST ESTIMATES, CONTINGENCIES, UH,
AND IN THAT SCENARIO, HOW WOULD YOU HIGHLIGHT A SCOPE SHORTFALL TO THIS GROUP AS OPPOSED TO RUNNING OVER BUDGET? IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE PULLING IN SCOPE, YOU HAVE TO PULL.
HOW, HOW WOULD WE BECOME AWARE OF SUCH A CHANGE? THAT'LL BE, I, I DON'T KNOW.
THERE'S MECHANISM IN PLACE TO INFORM THIS GROUP ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS CURRENTLY, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED THAT CHANGE CONTROL FRAMEWORK, CHANGE CONTROL, UH, COMMITTEE THAT OUR PROCUREMENT OFFICE RUNS REQUIRES VETTING AND APPROVAL FOR SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO COUNCIL.
AND THAT STORY WOULD HAVE TO BE TOLD, WE'D HAVE TO SAY, HERE'S WHERE WE MISSED SOMETHING ON THE SCOPE, HERE'S WHY THERE'S ADDITIONAL COST INVOLVED, BUT THAT WOULD BE APPROVED AS A COUNCIL ACTION.
UM, I'M, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING THAT TRIGGERS A, UM, SPECIFIC DECISION OR, OR ANY ACTION BY, BY THIS COMMISSION AS A STANDALONE PART OF THAT PROCEDURE AT THE MOMENT.
AUSTIN, UH, FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, WHERE IN THE CITY IS THAT COMPARISON BEING DONE? WHAT I'M GRAPPLING WITH TRYING TO GRAPPLE WITH IS IF THAT IS BEING DONE SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY, WHY ISN'T IT REFLECTED IN THE REPORTS THAT WE GET FROM DEPARTMENTS? BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY INFORMATION IN THE PAST MM-HMM
THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IN THEORY, I GUESS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SPOT WHEN THERE'S A PROBLEM AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, BUT THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING HAS NOT INDICATED THAT THERE'S ANY PROBLEM.
AND SO WHAT PART OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION AND NEXT MONTH'S PRESENTATION IS HOW CAN WE GET BETTER INFORMATION IN ORDER TO DO OUR JOB BETTER? IF IT'S NOT FOR US TO GO AS,
[01:00:01]
AS YOU SAY, MICROMANAGE THOSE THINGS, IT IS, UH, FOR US TO GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION, UM, THAT'S CORRECT.SO WE CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS.
I, I THINK THAT'S A FAIR REQUEST.
SO HOW DO WE DO THAT? HOW IS IT, IS IT THIS GONNA BE ALL REVEALED TO US IN THE PRESENTATION NEXT MONTH,
THE, THE SOFTWARE THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN IS, UM, IS NOT A SILVER BULLET BY ANY MEANS.
IT'S AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE E CAPRI AS A STANDALONE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL.
UM, WE'VE BEEN USING E CAPRI FOR 20 YEARS.
IT WAS DEVELOPED AS A FINANCIAL TOOL AND FOR THE LACK OF ANY, UM, PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, RIGHT? WE MAY DO, AND IT, IT, IT'S GOTTEN THE JOB DONE, BUT WE CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE BETTER, UM, REPORTING AND BETTER OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT, THAT IT HELPS US COMBINE SCHEDULING WITH REPORTING AND ANALYTICS.
IT'S, WE'RE IN, WE'RE AT THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR OF A FIVE YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO THIS WILL BE GRADUALLY LAID IN ON TOP OF, AND ALONG WITH OUR EXISTING SYSTEM.
SO, UM, NEXT MONTH I'LL, I'D BE HAPPY TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH WHAT THIS WILL ALLOW US TO DO, HOW IT'LL GIVE US BETTER, UM, CAPABILITIES SORT OF IN THAT YEAR OF EXECUTION, BUT IT'S NOT, UM, CERTAINLY, UH, UM, AN INSTANT REMEDY THAT WILL FIX THIS WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PROCEDURES AND THE CONTROLS AND OTHER THINGS THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY THINKING OF, UM, TO, TO GO ALONG WITH IT.
THIS WILL HELP INFORM THOSE DECISIONS, BUT IT WON'T DO IT.
SO E CAPRI IS, AS STEVEN SAID, IS A SYSTEM THAT DEVELOPED THE CITY DEVELOPED LIKE 20 YEARS AGO.
IN FACT, IT WAS ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT I GOT CHARGED WITH, BUT E CAPRI HAD IN IT BENCHMARKS FOR THE DIFFERENT, UH, PHASES OF A PROJECT.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE CIP LAYING OUT, THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT THIS WAY OVER FIVE YEARS.
IT SAID, FOR THIS PROJECT YOU'LL BE THROUGH WITH DESIGN AT THIS PERIOD OF TIME, YOU'LL BE TO GO TO CONTRACT AT THIS PERIOD OF TIME, YOU'LL BE THROUGH PHASE ONE, A CONTRACT AT THIS PERIOD OF TIME.
SO IT HAD DATES IN IT FOR ALL PROJECTS.
UM, THE ADVANTAGE OF THAT IS IT ENABLED YOU THE OPPOSITE OF MICROMANAGE.
IT ENABLED YOU TO LOOK AT THE WHOLE SYSTEM AND SAY, HOW MANY PROJECTS ARE BEHIND ON DESIGN? HOW MANY PROJECTS ARE BEHIND ON CONTRACTING? AND TAKE A MORE SYSTEMIC LOOK AT THE PRO AT THE CAPITAL PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS TO SEE IF THERE'S A COMMON PROBLEM THAT WE'RE RUNNING INTO.
I'VE NEVER KNOWN THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, MAYBE IT'S HAPPENED, BUT WHEN WE HAVE A NEW BOND PROGRAM AND THEY'RE ANTICIPATING, UH, BASICALLY A LOT OF EXPENDITURE ADD PERSONNEL IN PURCHASING, UH, AND SO OFTENTIMES THE CONTRACTING PROCESS SLOWS DOWN BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL OF A SUDDEN TRYING TO CRAM A LOT OF STUFF THROUGH IT.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE NEW SYSTEM THAT RESEMBLES THE BENCHMARKS? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE INFORMATION IN THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS IN E CAPRI IS JUST NOT VALID ANY LONGER.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE CASE.
IT'S, IT'S, THERE'S NOT CONSISTENCY IN HOW IT'S USED AND UPDATED.
UM, IT, IT DOES HAVE THAT BASIC FUNCTIONALITY TO SHOW WHERE, UM, WHERE IN THE CYCLE THE PROJECT SHOULD SIT AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
THE NEW SYSTEM DEFINITELY HAS ENHANCED SCHEDULING CAPABILITY.
UM, IT, IT ALLOWS OUR PMS TO USE MORE SOPHISTICATED TOOLS.
SO RATHER THAN LIKE A MICROSOFT PROJECT TYPE SCHEDULE A PRIMAVERA PRE SIX, SO IT, IT CAN ALLOW A VERY DETAILED SCHEDULE TO BE FRONT LOADED INTO THE PROJECT AS SOON AS WE KNOW FUNDS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
AND TO, TO LAY THAT IN AND TO SET THAT AS THE BASELINE I, I MENTIONED.
SO WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, A, A VERY DETAILED OR VERY GRANULAR LOOK AT WHAT THAT SCHEDULE SHOULD BE TO, TO MEASURE AGAINST AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY NEW PROJECTS.
[01:05:01]
WHEN WILL WE HAVE THAT? UM, AS I SAID, IT'S, WE'RE BEGINNING THE SECOND YEAR OF THE, THE OVERALL SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION.UM, THE SCHEDULING MODULE IS PROBABLY GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING IN SOME OF THE RUDIMENT RUDIMENTARY MODULES UPFRONT, UM, WORKING ON SOME, SOME BASICS.
AND THEN THE SCHEDULE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLEX.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'LL PROBABLY BE IN TOWARD THE END OF YEAR TWO, BEGINNING OF YEAR THREE.
BUT IT'S NOT SAY THAT WE CAN'T PERFORM THAT TASK RIGHT NOW.
IF WE WERE TO USE E CAPRI TO THE EXTENT WE COULD USE IT, WE COULD STILL REPORT AND, AND TRACK THOSE SAME BENCHMARKS YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
IT'S JUST A, A MATTER OF HAVING THE, UM, DISCIPLINE OF, OF DOING IT AND REPORTING ON IT.
THIS WILL ALLOW US TO DO IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER, A LITTLE BIT CLEANER AND, UM, FASTER.
BUT WE, WE COULD DO IT NEXT YEAR.
UM, ALONG WITH THE NEW BOND, UM, WITH THE SYSTEM WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
UH, AND, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, I UNDERSTAND THERE WERE A NUMBER, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS WITH E CAPRI THAT IT DIDN'T DO.
THERE'S REASON FOR REPLACING IT, AND THERE'S PROBABLY REASON WHY IT HASN'T BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION IS NOT PERFECTLY UPDATED, ET CETERA.
BUT, UM, THE, THE, THE CONCEPT OF BENCHMARKS HAS ALWAYS SEEMED TO ME LIKE A WAY OF TAKING A LOOK AT THE WHOLE SYSTEM, UH, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN ON DEPARTMENT, BY DEPARTMENT, BY DEPARTMENT.
UM, JUST TO ADD ON A LITTLE BIT, SO I AGREE WITH YOU IN SOME WAYS, BUT THE WAY THAT NOT ALL OF OUR PROJECTS, IN FACT, A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS THAT WE DELIVER ARE NOT TRADITIONAL DESIGN BID BUILD.
AND SO THE MODEL IN THE MODULE IN E CAPRI, IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, LIKE I WAS DOING A LOT OF IDIQ PROJECTS, WELL, IT DOESN'T FIT WITH THE BENCHMARK, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE WITH WHAT THEY'RE LAYING OUT AND WHAT THE TOOL I HAVE.
SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU HAVE THE THE NEW THING THAT IS COMING, THAT'LL IMPROVE THAT.
BUT, UM, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE IDIQ DELIVERY METHOD HAS BEEN SO REVOLUTIONARILY EFFICIENT FOR US AND HAS ALLOWED US TO MAKE, LIKE, DO THINGS THAT YOU WOULDN'T EVEN IMAGINE.
SO IT'S, THERE'S NO REAL PROBLEM THERE.
IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING, AMAZING TOOL.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE LAST, YOU KNOW, THE LAST COMMENT I HOPE TO MAKE IS THE ISSUE IS YOU, WHEN WE PUT A LOT OF PROJECTS TOGETHER, LIKE WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, 200 MILLION FOR STREETS, THE PROBLEM THAT WE THEN INCUR THAT OCCURS IS CITIZENS SOMEHOW GET A DIFFERENT IDEA WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN OUT OF THAT 200 MILLION.
AND AS YOU SAID, THE ADVANTAGE IS WE'VE GOT 200 MILLION AND WE HAVE ALL THESE STREETS WE NEED TO WORK ON, AND PRICES START INCREASING.
SOME OF THOSE STREETS ARE NOT JUST NOT GONNA GET DONE BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO IT WITH 200 MILLION ANYMORE.
AND THE PROBLEM BEING, IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE VOTED FOR THAT BOND ELECTION IN THE HOPE THAT THAT PARTICULAR STREET WAS, WAS ONE STREET, THE STREET, THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST, SORRY,
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WE TALK ABOUT A NEW BOND ELECTION, IS YOU HAVEN'T DONE WHAT WE THOUGHT WE THOUGHT YOU PROMISED TO DO IN PREVIOUS BOND ELECTIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, BRIAN WAS UPSET.
TO, TO THAT END, I THINK GETTING A CLEAR IDEA OF HOW SCOPE IS CHANGING OVER TIME WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THIS GROUP.
AND I UNDERSTAND YOU DON'T OVERSEE EVERY PROJECT, UM, BUT MAYBE FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS FROM CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD SPEAK TO WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY ARE PRESENTING.
IN FACT, THAT'S ONE OF THE INTERNAL, UM, BENCH BENCHMARKS IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT WE'RE HOLDING OURSELVES TO, UM, THIS YEAR ACTUALLY SETTING A, A GOAL FOR LIMITING THE, THE CHANGE ORDERS TO OUR ENTIRE PORTFOLIO PROJECTS AND BEING ABLE TO REPORT ON THAT.
IF, IF, UH, IF I MAY, AND I APOLOGIZE IF, UH, WE WANNA STICK TO THAT TOPIC ANY LONGER, I JUST HAD A QUICK VERIFYING QUESTION.
UM, I THINK EARLIER, EARLIER WE HAD MENTIONED THAT IF THERE'S A PROJECT WITH A, UM, YOU KNOW, COST OVERRUN AND ANOTHER PROJECT THAT'S RUNNING UNDER COST THAT SOME OF THOSE FUNDS CAN FLOW BETWEEN AS LONG AS THEY DON'T HAVE SPECIAL FUNDING OR A SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, PROJECT FUNDING OR SOMETHING.
UM, I THINK I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS ON THAT, JUST FROM
[01:10:01]
MY OWN UNDERSTANDING.AT WHAT LEVEL ARE THOSE FUNDS FUNGIBLE LIKE ABLE TO TRANSFER BETWEEN THOSE PROJECTS? UM, AND THEN AS WELL, IS THERE ANY SORT OF, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT CHANGE CONTROL PROCESS.
IS THERE ANY SORT OF ACTION THAT, THAT MAY TRIGGER IF WE MOVE, YOU KNOW, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF FUNDS OVER FROM ONE PROJECT TO ANOTHER OR, UH, OR EXPECT THAT BIG GAP? I'LL ANSWER THE FIRST PART OF THAT QUESTION.
SO AS LONG AS IT'S WITHIN THE SAME PROPOSITION, AND PARTICULARLY IF IT'S WITHIN THE SAME CATEGORY OF PROJECT, IT'S COMPLETELY FAIR GAME.
YOU KNOW, IF WE SAVE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ON IMPLEMENTING THIS PARTICULAR SIDEWALK, WELL YES, GO FOR IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T, IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, YEARS AND YEARS AGO,
UM, NOW THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION WAS TELL ME, UH, WAS MORE SO, SO IF WE EXPECT A, A LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM ONE PROJECT TO ANOTHER, UM, EVEN IT'S WITHIN THE SAME CATEGORY OR, OR SO, UM, IS THERE ANY KIND OF REVIEW THAT THAT WOULD TRIGGER? SO, YOU KNOW, I I THINK IT'S, THE ANSWER'S GONNA BE SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT RETROSPECTIVES BEING LIKE NOT QUITE RIGHT THAT WE WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE, UH, ANY SORT OF REPORTING OR ANYTHING, UH, OR CHANGE TO THE PLAN NECESSARILY THAT GETS TRIGGERED BY THAT SORT OF, UM, NEED FOR MORE FUNDING, RIGHT? ASSUMING NO FUNDING IS ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS EDEN, I'M JUST THINKING KIND OF PROGRAMMATIC, YOU KNOW, THINGS IF, AGAIN, IF YOU'RE MOVING IT FROM ONE SIDEWALK TO THE OTHER, THEY'RE WORKING OFF THE SIDEWALK MASTER PLAN, THEY'RE DOING 'EM AN ORDER AND THEY'RE JUST, THEY JUST GO TO THE NEXT PROJECT ON THE LIST.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S JUST SURE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT'S, THERE'S NO, YOU KNOW, NO BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES ADDITIONAL TO JUMP THROUGH.
I MEAN, THAT'S KIND OF THE LAST THING YOU REALLY WANT TO ADD IN TO US DELIVERING PROJECTS.
ARE THERE ANY INCENTIVES TO COME IN UNDER BUDGET? IT SOUNDS LIKE THE PRIMARY GOAL IS TO SPEND WHAT'S ALLOCATED, UH, AS OPPOSED TO COMING UNDER BUDGET.
IS THAT THE CASE? CAN CAN Y'ALL SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? CERTAINLY INDIVIDUAL, UM, CONTRACTS AND PROJECTS CAN BE STRUCTURED.
UM, IF WE GET CREATED, THERE'S A, A FIRM FIXED PRICE CONTRACT WHERE THERE'RE NOT NECESSARILY BEING INCENTIVES.
UM, PROCUREMENT CAN WORK WITH US AND THE SPONSOR TO TAILOR PROJECTS THAT OFFER INCENTIVES AND, UM, OTHER CONTRACTUAL, UM, IN INCENTIVES TO PERFORM.
BUT THAT'S KINDA ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
UM, I THINK THE, SO THAT, THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION ABOUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, INTRA PROGRAMMATIC SPEND ALLOCATION WITHOUT ANY CHANGE MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND JUST I GUESS A COUPLE THINGS, UM, IN TERMS OF REPORTING THAT YOU REVIEW INTERNALLY, UM, WITH REGARD TO THESE MATTERS IN TERMS OF LIKE TRACKING VERSUS BUDGET, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU COULD BRING AND SHARE HERE SO THAT WE COULD ALSO VIEW THAT TOGETHER AND YOU COULD EXPLAIN TO US HOW IT WORKS? UM, CERTAINLY WE COULD, UH, I COULD INVITE OUR, UM, OUR FRIENDS OVER PROCUREMENT THAT MANAGE THAT CHANGE CONTROL PROCESS TO, TO GIVE A QUICK PRESENTATION.
THEY COULD INDICATE THE SORT OF TRIGGERS, UM, AT WHAT PERCENT DO YOU NEED TO, TO GET PERMISSION TO MAKE A CHANGE, UM, AND SORT OF THE, THE OVERALL CRITERIA THAT, UM, REQUIRE A, A CHANGE BE APPROVED AND GO BACK TO COUNSEL.
YEAH, I'LL, I'LL CERTAINLY TALK TO THEM AND SEE IF WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A PRESENTATION FOR THIS, UH, COMMISSION.
AND, AND, AND I'M SORRY, I, I'M, I'M LESS TALKING ABOUT LIKE A PROACTIVE, UH, NEW INFORMATION, MORE JUST KIND OF LIKE YOU'VE MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION THAT YOU'RE REVIEWING AS YOUR ENTITY TO SAY, HERE'S WHAT WE PLAN TO DO, HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S SIMILAR THINGS FOR LIKE THE, UH, ROADS AND SIDEWALKS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THOSE GROUPS KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, KNOW WHAT'S CHANGING, AND PROBABLY ARE REPORTING ON THAT ON THAT IN A SUMMARIZED WAY.
AND MAYBE THE CLEANEST WAY FOR US TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT IS NOT TO DO NEW NET NEW PRESENTATIONS, IT'S JUST TO REVIEW WHAT'S ALREADY BEING PRODUCED AND SHARED AND DISCUSSED AMONG THE VARIOUS PEOPLE DOING THE THINGS.
UH, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE DISPERSED EXECUTION ON SOME OF THESE BOND PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, WE, WE COULD CERTAINLY ASK THAT QUESTION.
IN FACT, I, I BELIEVE NEXT MONTH WE HAVE, UM, TWO OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS MAKING A PRESENTATION.
[01:15:01]
WORKS, AND OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT WILL BOTH BE PLANNING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE.AND I, I THINK IT'S A, A FAIR QUESTION TO SAY, DO YOU HAVE, UM, THAT, THAT TYPE OF REPORTING, WHAT DO YOU GUYS USE AS INTERNAL CONTROLS FOR THE, THE PROJECTS THAT YOU'RE MANAGING AS DEPARTMENT? SO, UM, WE, WE, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES SHOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER FOR THE PROJECTS WE'RE MANAGING, BUT IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE MAKING A PRESENTATION ON THEIR PIECE OF THE PIE, I THINK YOU, YOU'D BE WITHIN YOUR, UM, RIGHT HERE OF COMMISSION TO, TO ASK FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FOR SHELLY AND OR SEVEN? I WOULD JUST SAY IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN THE PRESENTATION YOU'RE CONFUSED ABOUT OR DON'T KNOW, AND, UM, I REALIZE WE WERE THROWING AROUND THE TERM E CAPRI VERY LIBERALLY, AND THEN NEW PEOPLE MAY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, DON'T HESITATE TO FOLLOW UP IF THERE'S JUST SOMETHING YOU'RE CONFUSED ABOUT OR A TERM YOU NEED TO FIND.
AND I'VE GOT AN ACRONYM HERE THAT I'VE GOT A, I'M JUST SO PUZZLED ABOUT WHAT IT IS.
WELL, THAT'S IN THE DEFINITION YEAH.
BUT YOU BUT THE ACRONYM IS A-P-P-F-C-O.
I, I CAN'T, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT.
I FEEL LIKE WE CALL 'EM SOMETHING ELSE.
WE USED, WE USED TO CALL 'EM KS, I DON'T KNOW, CEOS, CONTRACTUAL, I CAN'T, I DON'T HAVE MY GLASSES ON, SO I GOTTA
I CAN'T ACTUALLY READ THAT
I COPIED IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S PRESENTATION.
I WAS LIKE, OH, THIS IS A GOOD RESOURCE.
I'M JUST GUESSING THAT IT LOOKS LIKE AN VERSION TO ANNETTE'S COMPANY USED TO USE.
SO, YEAH,
JUST CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE ON IT.
THAT WAS GREAT AND I HOPE IT WAS INSTRUCTIVE TO ALL OF US, SO WE KIND OF NEEDED THAT.
AND, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CURRY FOR MAKING THAT POSSIBLE TOO.
[3. Discussion on the 2026 Bond Election Advisory Task Force recent meeting items.]
ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS, BUT AT THE TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE, I, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT A DISCUSSION ON THE, UH, BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, THE RECENT MEETING ITEMS, ANY UPDATES THAT NEED SHOULD BE SHARED WITH THE REST OF THE GROUP, ESPECIALLY OUR NEW FOLKS.JUST SAY MAYBE FOR THE NEW FOLKS, UM, UH, THE 2026 B PROCESSES IS UNDERWAY.
UM, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CONTENT AVAILABLE ONLINE THAT I'D ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE DISCUSSION TODAY.
JUST THIS SEEMS LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK FOR THIS COMMISSION TO REALLY, UM, UH, WRAP THEIR HEADS AROUND, UH, ONE SET OF NEW PROJECTS COMING OUT OF ONE BOND AT ONE TIME VERSUS THIS KIND OF LIKE OVERLAPPING COMPLEXITY THAT WE KIND OF, WHEN YOU JUST LIKE WALK INTO THE MIDDLE OF THIS OR THRUST INTO, SO IT'S A CLEAN LOOK AT IT.
UH, A WHOLE, WHOLE NEW SLATE OF, OF PROJECTS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, WORKING GROUP CONTENT ONLINE, A LOT OF MEETING CONTENT ONLINE.
JUST ENCOURAGE YOU, YOU ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
UM, BUT NOTHING REALLY SPECIFIC THAT CAME OUT OF OUR RECENT MEETINGS THAT I WOULD TALK TO YOU, BUT I'D LOOK TO JC AND TO COMMISSIONER CURRY TO HAVE ANY OTHER INPUT.
UH, THERE ARE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS I THINK SCHEDULED IN NOVEMBER.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DATES, BUT WE CAN MAKE 'EM AVAILABLE.
UH, I THINK, UM, THERE ARE TWO IN IN-PERSON PUBLIC HEARINGS, ONE SOMEWHERE DOWN SOUTH AND ONE AT THE GUS GARCIA REC CENTER, BUT WE CAN GET THE DATES FOR THOSE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING.
YEAH, IF YOU COULD, THERE'S A, SORRY, THOSE ONLINE, UH, THE RESOURCES YOU WERE, UH, MENTIONING REGARDING THE, UH, THE, THE ONE SET OF BONDS AND PROJECTS WHERE, UH, WHERE CAN I FIND THAT? WELL, WE'LL, UH, MAYBE WE'LL FIND A WAY TO EMAIL IT TO THE, TO THE CREW.
ED, I'M JUST GONNA SAY SOMETHING FOR ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING FROM HOME, JUST IN CASE.
UH, GOOGLE 2026 BOND DEVELOPMENT CITY OF AUSTIN AND YOU'LL FIND IT NOW, IF YOU GOOGLE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, YOU WILL GET TO THE CITY CLERK'S WEBSITE, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION, BUT THERE'S KIND OF LIKE TWO PARALLEL UNIVERSES.
[01:20:01]
I HAVE LUCK.2026, UH, BOND DEVELOPMENT CITY OF BOSTON.
THAT ONE, THAT'S FOR POSTERITY? YES.
[4. Discussion on the 2026 Annual Bond Oversight Meeting Schedule.]
THE NEXT ITEM IS THE DISCUSSION ON THE, UH, 2026 ANNUAL BOND OVERSIGHT MEETING SCHEDULE.IN FACT, COMMISSIONER CURRY AND I WERE TALKING BEFORE THE MEETING STARTED, HE SAID THE BIG THING ABOUT THE SCHEDULE IS WE OUGHT TO JUST GO AHEAD AND USE THE REGULAR SCHEDULE AND MAKE AND TURN THAT INTO THE CITY CLERK.
WHEN DOES THAT NEED TO BE THERE? WE HAVE UNTIL NOVEMBER AND, UM, STEVE WILL JUST KIND OF TALK ON SOME OF THE THINGS OKAY.
SO, UM, IF YOU RECALL ABOUT A MONTH AGO, WE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT MANY OF OUR, UM, DEPARTMENTS WHO REGULARLY PRESENT TO THIS GROUP ARE EITHER COMPLETE OR VERY CLOSE TO COMPLETING THEIR, IN ANY OF THEIR OUTSTANDING BOND PROJECTS.
SO AS WE SAW ABOUT A MONTH AGO WHEN FIRE AND EMS GAVE A PRESENTATION, IT'S REALLY JUST KIND OF A, A GOOD NEWS STORY AT THIS POINT.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF, UM, EITHER DECISIONS OR, UM, ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED.
SO THAT LOOKS TO BE THE SAME GOING INTO NEXT YEAR.
AND WE'VE REALLY NARROWED IT DOWN TO ABOUT, UM, THREE AND FOUR.
A FEW INCLUDE AUSTIN PUBLIC HOUSING DEPARTMENTS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF, UM, OUTSTANDING BOND DOLLARS TO CONTINUE TO EXECUTE.
UM, TWO OF THEM ARE GONNA BE HERE NEXT MONTH.
LIKE I ALLUDED TO, UM, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS THE, THE THIRD, UM, PARTICIPANT.
SO WITH A, A SMALLER NUMBER OF, UM, DEPARTMENTS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE SOME, SOME MEANINGFUL UPDATES IN THE NEXT YEAR.
WE TALKED, UM, EITHER LAST MONTH OR BOTH THE PRIOR TWO MONTHS ABOUT SAYING, DO WE NEED TO FOLLOW A STANDARD SCHEDULE OR CAN WE DO SOME COMPRESSION? AND WHAT NICOLE HAS, UM, LAID OUT HERE ARE A COUPLE OF, UH, MEETINGS THAT HAVE, UM, CODE REQUIREMENTS OR AT LEAST, UM, CHARTER REQUIREMENTS THAT WE MUST MEET.
SO THE, THE ANNUAL UPDATE FROM FSD, THE, THE ELECTIONS, UM, A A FEW THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE ON THE CALENDAR.
WE COULD CERTAINLY WITH, WITH ONLY FOUR OR THREE UM, DEPARTMENTS THAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY PROVIDE SOME MEANINGFUL UP UPDATE NEXT YEAR.
WE COULD LOOK AT COMBINING THOSE, UH, PRESENTATIONS WITH SOME OF THE, THE MANDATORY MEETINGS WE HAVE AND HAVE A, A SLIMMER SCHEDULE.
UM, OR WE COULD CONTINUE TO GO WITH A, A FULLER SCHEDULE WITH MONTHLY MEETINGS AND JUST HAVE, UM, VERY LIMITED AGENDAS DURING THOSE MORE, MORE FREQUENT MEETINGS.
SO, UM, IT, IT COULD BE A DISCUSSION TODAY.
WE COULD, UM, LET THE COMMISSION THINK ABOUT HOW THEY WANNA APPROACH IT AND CERTAINLY BY NEXT MONTH WE, WE NEED TO DECIDE HOW WE WANNA LAY THAT CALENDAR OUT.
BUT NEXT THOSE ARE IS THE DEADLINE WE HAVE TO TURN INTO THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
BUT WHAT'S THAT DATE, NICOLE? UM, IT'S BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.
SO NEXT MONTH'S MEETING WE WOULD NEED TO APPROVE OUR 2026 CALENDAR.
AND THEN AFTER UPON APPROVAL, I WOULD SUBMIT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
SO BASED ON THE NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS WITH CONTINUING OR OUTSTANDING DOLLARS TO, TO BE EXECUTED AND THE THE MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE, WE THINK WE COULD MANAGE, UM, ON A, A SLIM DOWN SCHEDULE.
BUT IT'S THE, THE TOPIC IS CERTAINLY YOUR, UM, THE COMMISSION'S DECISION TO MAKE AND HOW THEY WANT TO GO ABOUT DOING THINGS NEXT YEAR.
SO THAT'S FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
DO YOU HAVE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS ON THIS AGENDA? WE, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THERE WAS A COUPLE THAT STILL HAVE SOME BUDGET THAT THEY'RE IN THE 2026.
THE, THE GREEN, UM, ITEMS ARE THOSE MANDATORY EVENTS LIKE THE ANNUAL ELECTION, THE ANNUAL UPDATE FROM FSD? SO THOSE MONTHS ARE THE, THE, UM, TIMES WHERE WE SAY WE, WE HAVE TO MEET IN ORDER TO MEET OUR CHARTER REQUIREMENTS, BUT WE, WE DO NOT HAVE THOSE, UH, FOUR DEPARTMENTS PENCILED IN.
AND HOW WE WANNA DO THAT BEFORE NOVEMBER WHEN WE MEET IS BASED ON THIS DISCUSSION, DO WE WANNA PENCIL 'EM INTO THE BLANK MONTHS WHERE THEY'RE SORT OF THE ONLY, UM, FOLKS OR DO WE WANT TO HAVE A LONGER MEETING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, TODAY WHERE WE, WE MAX OUT OUR TIME, WE HAVE THE MANDATORY EVENT MM-HMM
AND WE ALSO HAVE ONE OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS IS THE PRESENTER FOR THAT MONTH AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE FEWER MEETINGS BUT MORE PACKED AGENDAS OR DO WE WANT TO SPREAD IT OUT, HAVE MORE, MORE MEETINGS AND SMALLER AGENDAS.
[01:25:02]
ASK IF THE COMMISSION WANTS TO ADD IT TO OUR BUSINESS NEXT YEAR IS REVIEWING THE BTIF RECOMMENDATION.SO WE DO HAVE THAT PENCILED IN FOR APRIL, UH, WHERE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES EXECUTIVES, MARCUS AND ERIC WOULD BE COMING, UM, FOR THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE COMMISSION IS CONSIDERED WHETHER WE WANNA MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL ABOUT THE BT REC, WHATEVER RECOMMENDATION BTF COMES UP WITH.
UM, UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD ALSO LACK ON THE SCHEDULE IS CON FINISHING THIS DISCUSSION THAT WE STARTED TODAY, UM, HOW CAN WE, WHAT INFORMATION CAN WE GET THAT WILL BETTER ENABLE US, UM, TO DO OVERSIGHT SO THAT WE CAN GIVE DEPARTMENTS GOOD, CLEAR INSTRUCTION ON WHAT WE EXPECT WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY BRING INFORMATION TO US? YES SIR.
I, I THINK THE COMMISSION WOULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF BREATHING ROOM, IF YOU WILL, NEXT YEAR BECAUSE OF THE B TIFF AND BECAUSE WE'RE DRAWING DOWN ON, ON ONE SET OF BOND, UH, PROJECTS AND RAMPING UP FOR ANOTHER, I'D FULLY EXPECT THAT 2026 MAY LOOK A LOT DIFFERENT WITH, UM, A BUNCH OF NEW PROJECTS KICKING OFF THAT INVOLVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS.
THAT COULD BE A, A FULLY PACKED SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN.
SO NEXT YEAR COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REIMAGINE HOW, HOW THIS, UM, COMMISSION OPERATES AND WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE.
SO YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
EXACTLY WHAT I'VE HAD IN MIND GETTING STARTED TODAY WAS RE REIMAGINING HOW WE CAN BETTER DO OUR JOB.
CHARLES, CAN I MAKE ONE COMMENT ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE? ABOUT IF YOU MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, IF THIS BODY MAKES A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT THE BE OF RECOMMENDATION, THE BE OF RECOMMENDATION WOULD NEED TO BE COMPLETE BEFORE YOUR APRIL MEETING, WHICH IDEALLY IT WOULD BE, BUT I JUST WANT, SINCE YOU'RE ON BOTH GROUPS NO, YOU NEED TO BE, YOU NEED TO BE
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU, WHAT WHAT IS LUCK TODAY? I DON'T KNOW THE SECOND, WHAT ARE WE, I DON'T KNOW.
WHAT YEAR ARE WE? SECOND, THIRD, TH THIRD WEDNESDAY MM-HMM
ANYTHING ELSE? WELL, MAYBE JUST TO ANSWER STEVEN'S QUESTION A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECTLY, I, I DO THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO PENCIL IN THE FOUR DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU ARE REFERENCING OKAY.
AND I THINK THAT ACCOMPLISHES OUR GOAL OF SLIMMING THIS DOWN AND MAKING THE MEETINGS MORE, MORE MEANINGFUL.
SO NEXT MONTH WE'LL COME BACK WITH, UH, A LINEUP, KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR, UM, THE YEAR, LOOK AHEAD WITH, YOU KNOW, THE ANTICIPATED DEPARTMENTS, ET CETERA.
AND REVISIT THAT AGAIN BEFORE.
UNLESS THEY'RE THERE ARE ANY OBJECTIONS, I THINK OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED.